The Diary of a Madman ...

This is the last week of the play, 'The Diary of a Madman' featuring Geoffrey Rush.  Tickets were sold out months ago, but each day, standing room tickets are released for that evening's performance.  I have been so desperate to see Geoffrey Rush on stage that I sent C. off on the 8 am ferry to try to get us some tickets for tonight.  He arrived to a huge line, where apparently the person at the head of the queue had been waiting since 4 o'clock this morning!  Needless to say, we missed out on tickets ... very disappointed.  Maybe we'll do the next best thing and rent a movie featuring Geoffrey Rush ... at least we'll be able to sit down to watch it.

A Day with George ...

This is George.  George is a survivor of the Holocaust.  Today, he was also our guide at the Sydney Jewish Museum.  For nearly three hours, George had 10 year old B, his mother and I mesmorised (with a mixture of horror and awe) with tales of his family who escaped from Poland to Siberia before returning to live under the communist rule following the Second World War.  The main message that George wanted us to understand was that life is about decisions ... the series of decisions that his father made for their family is the only thing that has accounted for his family's survival.  The rest of George's extended family died in the ghettoes of Warsaw.  George's story (which he has published in a book, 'Chocolate to Anzac Biscuits) allowed the three of us, especially B, to put a human face to the horror of the Holocaust.  We were incredibly lucky to meet George and hear his story ... and it certainly has given us all a greater appreciation for the safety and sense of belonging that many of us take for granted.

The Australian Museum ...

The extinct Tasmanian Tiger in the 'Where are they now?' section of 'Surviving Australia'

Yesterday, C and I took my two students to the Australian Museum in the city.  Our purpose of the visit was for six year old R and I to visit the 'Surviving Australia' exhibition as part of her studies into animal adaptations.  While us girls did our 'school' work, the two boys headed to the display of winning photos in Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.  The best part about the first exhibit was the extremely cool interactive table where museum goers were 'bitten' by all sorts of dangerous Australian animals before learning about the first aid needed for such a 'bite'.  It amused adults and children alike.  I also managed to get a quick peek at the wildlife photography but I'm keen to head back to spend longer because the photos were simply stunning.  Given such a grand title of 'Australian Museum', I did expect the museum to be slightly bigger with more on offer, but the quality of the displays that were on offer was pretty good.

Twilight at Taronga ...

C.  arrived on Saturday morning and in an effort to keep him awake and jet lag-free, I took him to see 'Beatnix', a Beatles cover band, at Taronga Zoo.  It couldn't have been a more perfect evening - wine and a picnic dinner with the sun setting in the beautiful location of Taronga Zoo.  The band were a lot of fun and it was great to see such a range of ages in the crowd.  Perhaps most fun of all was watching the oldies work up a sweat as they danced along to the songs of their youth!  Twilight at Taronga was the first of the many touristy things I have planned for C's visit over the next few weeks.

Ocean swimming pools ...

Since I'm lucky enough to be living in Manly for 5 months of the year, I feel like it's important to take advantage of the beautiful location.  I'm not really a beach kind of girl, but I'm learning to love it.  One of my favourite discoveries in Manly has been the ocean swimming pools that are generally found at most beaches.  The one pictured is at the Queenscliff end of Manly beach and it's where you'll find me a couple of evenings a week and over the weekend.  Swimming laps of breaststroke while doing a spot of people watching is the best way to spend a non-intense exercise session.  It's also fun watching the kids hang off the railing at the end of the pool and get hammered by the waves that come crashing into the pool on a wild day.  I only have 7 weeks till I go back to Canada, where I'll be taking advantage of the mountains, but until there, it's all about sun, sand and surf.

Central Australia from the sky ...

On the flight back to Sydney, I had a window seat and spent most of the flight mesmorised by the vast desert landscape.

Australia Day ...

Australia Day.  Ah.  A day for us to be proud to be Australian.  A day for the masses to converge in public places, proudly sporting their Southern Cross tattoos, their Australian board shorts and bikinis whilst drinking VB and chanting 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!'.  Yes, a day to feel proud to be Australian.

Enough of my cynicism.  I enjoyed a lovely morning celebrating Australia Day with R. and the kids.  We caught the 7 am ferry into the city to head to the Botanical Gardens to watch the Aboriginal celebrations.  It was brilliant.  And a timely reminder that it wasn't us white, boganistic people who 'founded' Australia, but the indigenous people who lived here for thousands of years before us.  Time for me to crack open a VB.